2001 Mitsubishi Montero - Page 1 Review

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TUCSON, Ariz. —Like
the state it’s a part of, Tucson, located in the southeastern corner of the
Grand Canyon State, wears many faces and has many distinct personalities. The
region has attracted New Age visionaries and is home to old Spanish missions;
there are miles of majestic caves to meander and the unsightly pilings of
copper, silver and gold mines; it appears barren and devoid of habitation and,
at the same time, boasts a landscaped urban sprawl.

But, mostly, its two distinctions are the marked contrast between its lowland
desert and highland mountains. Each is rich with natural beauty and compliments
the other.

It was here that Mitsubishi brought its latest version of the Montero to give
auto writers a chance to experience this full-sized SUV’s many faces and
distinct personalities. After its unveiling at the North American International
Auto Show in Detroit in January, Mitsubishi officially launched its
third-generation Montero in Tucson, where its on-road handling improvements and
off-road capability upgrades could be evaluated in close proximity and in
beautiful surroundings.

Frankly, we won't shed any tears as the current model leaves showrooms this
spring.

It hails back to another era, when sport-utes were used by only a handful of
trekkers and off-roaders motored in far-off corners of the globe. In such duty,
it performed flawlessly, negotiating the roughest terrain and enduring the most
demanding conditions — and it has the Paris-Dakar rally victories to prove
it.

The times have changed, of course, and some of the outgoing Montero's
notorious strengths have become weaknesses in the current suburban SUV paradigm.
The field-worthy body-on-frame architecture, for example, was unrefined and
cumbersome through corners, while the tall profile and slab sides made even
minor crosswinds a little too exciting.

More room, less
tall

Mitsubishi's greatest challenge with this newest truck was to retain
Montero's core strengths while adding the refinement and road manners expected
by mainstream American drivers. Some automakers have simply watered down their
SUV offerings or stayed away from the heavy-duty market altogether, a profitable
and rational strategy and one Mitsubishi refused to adopt. We're happy to say
that the no-compromise attitude has paid off: the new Montero is every bit as
tough as before and also immeasurably easier to live with. As Land Rover and
Jeep have so successfully shown with the Discovery and the Grand Cherokee, the
Montero meets with equal aplomb the needs of Beverly Hills and Baja (or Detroit
and Dakar.)

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